Introduction
McDonnell Douglass made the first F-15 Eagle fighter Jet in the U.S. It was used to control the skies from around the 1960's to the present day. It was made because it is heavily armed and could control the skies. The F-15s were the best fighters in the world. They had missiles, bombs, and ammunition and could maneuver easily.
F-15 Specifications:
The F-15 costs nearly 30 million dollars each. There are five models: A-E. The A and C versions seat one pilot while the others seat two. The jet can travel up to Mach 2.5 (1,875 MPH) and reach 65,000 feet. It has two turbofan engines that produce 29,000 pounds of thrust with after-burning. It has a range of 3,450 miles. That is about the distance across the United States.
The F-15 was designed in the 1960s. It was considered to be the best fighter and it was. It was the dominent fighter plane of the skies and was considered a deadly opponent. It could fly in any weather, it could do missions during day and night, it could do ground strikes, it could fight well in the air, and it could operate at low altitudes.
Piloting the Aircraft
The F-15 pilot wears a G-suit to protect himself from the force of gravity during acceleration and deceleration. Without the suit, the pilot might pass out! The G-Suit squeezes your lower body during high acceleration. The automatic inflation helps push blood that can pool in your lower extremities back up into your brain so you don't pass out.
Watch this video to learn more about the G-Suit. The typical person can handle up to 5-Gs (5 times the force of gravity) without passing out. The G-suit can allow pilots to fly under up to 9-Gs for a period of time.
Weapons
The F-15 is able to carry four Lockheed Martin / Raytheon AIM-9LM infrared-guided Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, up to four Raytheon AIM-7F/M radar-guided Sparrow air-to-air missiles, or eight Raytheon AMRAAM radar-guided, medium-range air-to-air missiles. It also has an internal General Dynamics M-61A1 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon installed in the right wing root, which can fire 4,000 or 6,000 shots a minute. The guidance systems include radar, laser, and JDAM (GPS Guided using special bomb-tail attachment).
External Links
More about the F-15 F-15 History